Reading (and Eating) My Way Around the World

Niger food

At least on-line, Niger seems to get a bit overshadowed, culinary-speaking, by a few of its neighbors (looking at you, Nigeria and Mali), but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. The book I read about Niger focused primarily on the Songhay in the northwestern part of the country, so I narrowed my recipe search to the same.

It does make me realize that as much as I’m learning from all of my reading and cooking, there’s still a whole world out there I’m passing by. Focusing on one group in one corner of a nation doesn’t give me the big picture, and I hope my very kind readers know that I know that. I’m limited by time; if I had the space, I would want to meet everyone and learn everything.

* I really deep-roasted the peanuts. I got raw peanuts in the shell, shelled and then roasted them in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes. They were dark brown, but not burnt, and they added a super rich, deep flavor that I highly recommend.

Peanuts and Greens Stew(image by The Global Reader)

Sort of cheating with this one, since Niger is not technically North African, but hey – grilled corn is popular here, there, and everywhere, and I thought the spices would go well with the stew…

North African Grilled Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

Spices mixed for North African Corn on the Cob(image by The Global Reader)

1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper

1 dash clove

4 ears corn, with husks

2 teaspoons (or really as much as you want) butter or olive oil**

Instructions:

Prepare grill.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl or jar; set aside.

Melt butter in small saucepan on stove or grill, add as much of the spice mix as you want, stir until blended.

Pull husks back from corn, and scrub silks. Brush spiced butter over corn, sprinkle with spice mixture. Place corn on grill rack; grill 12 minutes or until done, turning corn occasionally. You will have some charred spots – you want those!

* *This recipe could easily be made vegan by using olive oil instead of butter.

Niger Dinner(image by T. Farmer)

***How to Cook Millet

Millet is a drought-tolerant crop, and therefore a super important food in arid places where growing conditions can be challenging. It was mentioned quite often in reading about Niger, so it was for sure going to be on the menu for Niger.
First time cooking it, but it won’t be the last. Really good flavor and texture; you should check it out if you aren’t familiar. It’s a popular grain in many parts of the world; I found mine at a Polish grocery store. There are many ways to cook it; I went with the couscous-like style.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

1. In a large, dry saucepan or Dutch oven, over medium heat, toast the raw millet for 4-5 minutes. I stirred the whole time: the important thing is not let the grains burn.

2. Add the water and salt to the pan, being aware that the water will sputter and maybe splash since the pan is hot. Stir the millet well, increase the heat, and bring to a boil.

3. Once it boils, decrease the heat to low, drop in the butter (if using) and cover the pot. Simmer until the grains absorb most, but not all, of the water (the millet will continue soaking it up as it sits), about 15 minutes. Don’t lift the lid or stir too often. Too much fussing will cause the grains to break up and change texture.

4. Take the millet off the heat, and let sit, covered, for about 10 minutes. Then fluff with a fork and add more salt, if needed.

5. Millet needs to be served warm, and don’t shoot for leftovers. This grain does not seem to reheat well, and really dries out.